Rio’s departure scene was really touching. I am surprised at how much I was affected once I realized the episode was leading all the way to this. In retrospect, using Amazing Grace as a BGM for the scene probably was a bit cheating. Still, losing such a central figure to the group really makes me feel sad. Something like when ARIA fans went through Alicia’s retirement decision I guess?

Looking back (or actually this is the best time to rewatch if you guys never did pay attention), all the flashes to the past makes sense now. It’s great they made sense of it, I hate getting stringed along for too long. There’s still the Maidens story from the first episode to deal with. I suspect the resurrection of Takemikazuchi will tie in with that in the next episodes.